{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,4]],"date-time":"2025-11-04T05:28:40Z","timestamp":1762234120485,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,31]],"date-time":"2025-10-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761868800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Mundipharma"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JoF"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Invasive candidiasis (IC) is a life-threatening fungal infection predominantly affecting critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Despite advances in antifungal therapies, IC remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, with a mortality rate exceeding 40%. The current reliance on blood cultures as the diagnostic gold standard is limited by low sensitivity and prolonged turnaround times, often delaying effective treatment. This often leads to the overuse of empirical antifungal therapies, increasing resistance, healthcare costs, and inconsistent outcomes. To address these issues, this paper introduces a five-step diagnostic strategy developed by an expert panel to optimise IC diagnosis and management. The strategy integrates predictive risk scores, biomarkers, and antifungal susceptibility testing to streamline diagnosis, identify high-risk patients, and promote antifungal stewardship. It also addresses barriers such as resource disparities and variability in clinical practices, offering a practical, standardised strategy for ICUs in the UK and Ireland. The clinical utility of this approach is highlighted through two patient cases. One describes the safe discontinuation of antifungal therapy after a negative (1,3)-\u03b2-D-glucan (BDG) assay ruled out IC, reducing unnecessary treatment and adverse effects. The other showcases the use of rapid in-house antifungal susceptibility testing to precisely tailor therapy for a patient with Nakaseomyces glabratus, ensuring effective treatment and preventing resistance. This pragmatic five-step guide simplifies and standardises IC diagnosis, aiming to lower mortality, optimise therapies, and promote judicious antifungal use.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jof11110784","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,3]],"date-time":"2025-11-03T19:30:27Z","timestamp":1762198227000},"page":"784","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Pragmatic Strategy for Improving Diagnosis of Invasive Candidiasis in UK and Ireland ICUs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6547-7342","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anjaneya","family":"Bapat","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"King\u2019s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London SE5 9RS, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Timothy W.","family":"Felton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Respiratory Academic Group, Division of Immunology, Immunity to Infection and Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester M23 9LT, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Khorshid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacy Department, St. George\u2019s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London SW17 0QT, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5834-4063","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ignacio","family":"Martin-Loeches","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Research Organization (MICRO), St. James\u2019s Hospital, D08 NHY1 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"dlac055","DOI":"10.1093\/jacamr\/dlac055","article-title":"A multisite evaluation of antifungal use in critical care: Implications for antifungal stewardship","volume":"4","author":"Logan","year":"2022","journal-title":"JAC Antimicrob. 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